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Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Isn't this weather glorious? Perfect for us to get cracking on painting our front doors! Paint on front doors needs lovely sunshine, not too hot, though, or the paint may blister, but not too cold, or the paint won't harden in the right way, so a breezy sunny day (in England, at least) gives a glorious excuse to smarten up the front of your the perfect conditions for painting outside.

Your house is like a reflection of your character so, whether you live in a gorgeous English cottage, smothered with roses, or a suburban Victorian semi, or even a shiny new London pad, take the time to make your home one that makes you smile.

Front doors always draw the eye so picking the perfect paint for your front door will really get you on track to give your home a heart that beats in time with your own.

But have you seen the paint aisles? There are umpteen gazillion different paint shades so how's a girl to choose?

Step this way, if you please!

I LOVE giving this kind of advice to my clients and I hope these posts can give you an inkling of what goes on behind the scenes of Modern Country Style. So if you're feeling completely discombobulated and don't know where to begin then drop me a line...

I suggest that a good place to begin is by pounding the streets. When you're out and about, have a good look at homes that warm your heart. Take a look around your neighbourhood: is there a particular style that draws your eye?

Next, make the very most of all the available sources of inspiration. Check out your favourite books, magazines and, ahem, blogs that reflect a kerb appeal that gets you buzzing. Don't be afraid to get ripping! Collate all your favourites into one place. You'll find that gradually, graaaadually, your own style will begin to emerge.

Next, take a long, hard, honest look at the parts of your home that can't be changed. Is it the porch? The shape of the windows? The symmetry you love? Do these steer you towards a certain look?

Most importantly, what is your house exterior built from? Bricks, stone or render? Each of these has there own unique charm but will create a different appeal and most certainly should have an impact on your colour choice of front door.

For example, if your house, like ours, is built using local stone, with their traditional slate roofs, then consider leaning towards muted, heritage colours. However, if your house is a lovely red brick beauty, then warmer colours will fit the bill.

You don't have to feel a slave to these ideas; it's your house after all! But, to create a house that gives the appearance of being casually but perfectly put together, it's best to pull together shades from the same end of the spectrum.

Lastly, as I'm always banging on about here, look at the way the front door faces. This is an essential part of the process because the sunlight really bleaches colours. They'll appear sooooo much lighter even when first painted so if you want impact in the sun, choose with care.

Also, bear in mind that darker colours in the sunshine will fade very noticeably so it may be worth sticking with paler shades, unless you're a paint-your-front-door-once-a-year kind of home-owner!

But in the shade, the world's your oyster....

Coming up soon....I'll be sharing my favourite paint colours for front doors. Do you have any to share?

Thursday, 18 May 2017

How gorgeous is this home in the Cotswolds? Come with me and take a tour of the extensive Modern Country interior.

Stepping through that gorgeous front door (more on front doors coming soon...!), we're taken into this enormous hall. Walls are painted in Neptune Moss, a perfect Modern Country shade.

In fact, Neptune paints are favoured in many rooms in the house. The living room is in Neptune's Silver Birch paint, a soft grey with greige undertones.

In the family room, a more relaxed route has been taken, providing a place for the family to sit in easy comfort. Who wants a house full of stuffiness? Not me, that's for sure

This is my favourite room. A classic Modern Country dining room. The panelled tongue and groove walls are painted in Neptune Moss, a rich sea green/blue, which contrasts beautifully with the lighter elements in the room.

The kitchen and boot room are almost Shaker in their simplicity, yet good quality components prevent them from looking characterless.

And then we venture upstairs to the Master bedroom...

..bathroom (I'm LOVING that tinsy fireplace)...

..and Guest bedroom, each with their own distinctive feel...

...but they are linked by those beautiful Modern Country colour palette of whites, soft greys, blues, greens and naturals.

Thursday, 11 May 2017

Choosing the right white can all too often turn into an after-thought but, today, will you let me give you my secret to a white that ALWAYS looks good? Dulux Trade White.

I see so many of my clients assume that they should choose Pure Brilliant White. It's easily available, it's cheap and it's what everyone chooses, right?

Step away, my friends! I almost always lead my clients away from using Pure Brilliant White when working with gorgeous muted shades. {Click on the links to be whisked away to a world full of delicate Modern Country paint colours:

I get so many questions asking which white I've used in the rooms I've decorated, and, let me tell you, the answer is more times than not Dulux Trade White.

Yes! It's true. Nothing fancy-shmancy here but no less beautiful for that. It's a beautiful white: simple, soft and clean. But the best thing about it is the way it ages. And please remember to take the ageing process into account, unless you want to be redecorating every year. This is where we firmly part ways with Pure Brilliant White, which can often age to a dull grey (a bit too Modern), whilst official off-white colours can become a little yellower than I prefer (too Country). Dulux Trade White gets better with age, like a good wine. With the passing of years, it'll gradually become ever more lovely: white with the gentlest hint of cream. Perfectly Modern Country Style!!

Now for the science bit!...

We used Dulux Trade White High Gloss on the all the woodwork and metalwork in our Modern Country teenage girl's bedroom (top tip: if you have different surfaces to prime in a room, make life easy by buying an all-purpose primer to use under the gloss to ensure extra sticking power, and also to give extra depth of colour. Here, we've used Dulux Trade All Purpose Primer).

We used Dulux Trade White in their Supermatt formula, which is perfect for ceilings in older houses that need to let moisture leave the property to avoid damp problems as it's designed to let new plaster dry out beneath it.

Using the same trim and ceiling colour in the majority of rooms is a simple way to ensure a harmonious flow throughout your home.

So, now we've got the basics right in our Modern Country teenage girl's bedroom, let's start layering up the loveliness, shall we?

But to describe Dulux Dusted Moss as a standard grey is to completely sell it short. It's a beautifully complex grey green, with a hint of blue; worthy of a much higher price point.

It's always worth remembering when you're choosing greys with subtle undertones that the more warm light (e.g. south facing) your room receives, the greener the colour will look...

and the less sunshine it receives, the cooler (or bluer) it will look.

Our room brings an extra layer of complication, as so many rooms do, because it's North East facing but it receives extra sunshine reflected into it from the buildings opposite. However, the light is essentially fairly cool.

And it's the perfect choice for this space. The green definitely comes to the fore but is never over-powering.

Dusted Moss comes in a number of different shades and Dusted Moss 1 is the darkest and most green. In fact, you'd struggle to actually notice the hidden depths in some of the lighter shades, they read as far more greyed, so this is most definitely my favourite Dusted Moss shade.

This is not a colour that changes vastly with the light. As always in my Paint Colour Case Studies, I've taken photos of the room at different times of day and in different lights so that you can see for yourself what you should expect if you take the delightful path of using Dulux Dusted Moss 1...

Here it is at its most green in full sunshine....

....and here, looking considerably more muted, on a dull afternoon....

...and here in cool evening light: see how much bluer it looks?

Dulux Dusted Moss 1 would be fantastic as a painted kitchen cabinet colour. These images show how well it works with white walls for a gorgeous Modern Country kitchen.

And here it is gracing uber-cool designer Abigail Ahern's bathroom, contrasting beautifully with that elegant white ceiling and roll-top bath.

Dulux Dusted Moss 1 is a lovely grown-up colour. Perfect for a girl who's growing into a more sophisticated scheme.

Even in full sun, there's no hint of taupe or mushroom tones. Dusted Moss 1 stays firmly in its remit to be a gorgeous grey green at all times - no disobedience here!

If you're longing for a paint colour like Farrow and Ball Hardwick White but are struggling with its taupey tendencies, then definitely take a look at Dulux Dusted Moss 1. It's a winner!

And if you love gorgeous muted shades like this, then you might like to browse through my other Paint Colour Case Studies.....

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